Wolfe Research Upgrades Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) to Strong-Buy

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wolfe Research to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on VERA. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Vera Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $58.00 target price for the company. Wedbush increased their target price on Vera Therapeutics from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Vera Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Vera Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on Vera Therapeutics from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $65.44.

Vera Therapeutics Trading Up 4.2 %

Vera Therapeutics stock opened at $38.07 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $41.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.98. The company has a quick ratio of 13.76, a current ratio of 13.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.59 and a beta of 1.11. Vera Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $31.77 and a 12 month high of $51.61.

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.85) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.64) by ($0.21). As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vera Therapeutics will post -2.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vera Therapeutics

In other Vera Therapeutics news, CEO Marshall Fordyce sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.07, for a total value of $753,725.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,701,521.94. This trade represents a 16.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 52,500 shares of company stock worth $2,305,625. Insiders own 21.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in Vera Therapeutics by 82.0% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 813,861 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,418,000 after buying an additional 366,763 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,954,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,390,000 after purchasing an additional 158,451 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 426,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,830,000 after purchasing an additional 124,197 shares during the period. First Turn Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics by 53.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Turn Management LLC now owns 326,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,431,000 after purchasing an additional 113,550 shares during the period. Finally, Pier Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vera Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,573,000. 99.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Vera Therapeutics

Vera Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical stage biotechnology company, focuses on developing and commercializing treatments for patients with serious immunological diseases. Its lead product candidate is atacicept, a fusion protein self-administered as a subcutaneous injection that is in Phase III clinical trial for patients with immunoglobulin A nephropathy; and for treatment of lupus nephritis that is in Phase II clinical trial.